One of the best ways to end the year 2012

We all wanted to end a year with a bang.  More often than not, we always look forward to some  special activities and  bonding moments with our family and loved ones during the Holiday Season.

I was fortunate enough to enjoy one  last  December 27-December 30, 2012 with my sisters and some of their family members. .  For four days, we invaded the summer capital of the Philippines and enjoyed the very, very  cool breeze of December.  The younger generations had their own set of activities while  we, the sisters, walked  all around the city, shopped and window shopped for new and “UK” items,  cooked,  dined out, ate food and laughed altogether.  Most of all, we enjoyed posing and taking pictures for posterity since bonding moments like these never happen every  time.  All of us have our respective lives to live and it is indeed a rare occasion for all of us to be together at the same time. Below are some of our group pictures which you can enjoy viewing, too.

I also would like to take this opportunity to thank certain  people who made this trip possible and a very memorable one.  To my sister Bengga and her husband Anthony, thank you so much for extending the invitation to us .  Your endless generosity is beyond compare.  Thank you also to Astra and Noel Velasquez for their excellent Christmas gifts to all of us ( the sisters ) and of course for their company.  Our joy would not be complete without their  family. Thank you also to all our car managers, Anthony Sr., Andrei ( d macho and d pogi ), Ton-ton ( Towni Burdado??) and of course to Tart, my brother-in-law ( the husband of Citas ), who brought us safe,  to and from Baguio,  back home.  To all my sisters who did the marketing and the cooking and  to all my nieces and nephews who cleared the dining table and washed the dishes,  thank you so much  for all the time and the effort.  To the crew of the EDC Staffhouse, thank you also for all the assistance ( from electrical to janitorial services ).   Most of all, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to Mr. Jun Arciaga, who provided the superb accommodation during the entire vacation.  Our stay at the EDC Staffhouse was indeed   very comfortable and very relaxing.  Not to be forgotten of course is Elaine Baladjay Kaplan, my sister who is currently based in Pensylvannia, USA, who treated us to a sumptuous lunch at Max’s Hacienda Luisista on our way home.

Truly they say that life is like a roller-coaster.  Sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re down.  Sometimes it’s cold and sometimes it’s warm.  I never had a perfect relationship with my sisters but  I felt so blessed to have all my sisters with me all throughout my life’s turns. 

Bengga and her husband, Anthony

(L-R)  Fler . Bengga, Banzai, Beth, Eunice and Citas at Ayala Technohub, Baguio City

In Burnham Park, Baguio City

By the fireplace, EDC Staffhouse. Baguio Copuntry Club

At the dining table, EDC Staffhouse. Baguio Country Club

HAPPY NEW YEAR, SISTERS!  We'll be a year older this coming year and eventually, some of us will be acquiring our dual citizenship.  Let’s look forward to more bonding moments like these in the future while we can still walk , travel and have fun!  

To the rest of the gang in our Baguio trip, HAVE A BLESSED NEW YEAR!  More pictures will be uploaded soon!